Medical emergency aboard a North County Transit bus

A North County Transit District bus driver reported a medical emergency with a passenger aboard his bus at around 2:00 p.m. on October 4.

Prior to the ambulance arriving, the driver pulled the bus into the Encinitas transit station, where he was met by a sheriff’s deputy. The other passengers and bus driver quickly disembarked from the bus.

When approached by the deputy, the passenger became enraged, requiring the deputy to call for immediate back-up. Within a few moments, seven other deputies arrived to forcibly remove the passenger from the bus.

The passenger was placed on the ground and needed to be restrained in hog-tied fashion. A “spit sock” was placed over his head to prevent the deputies from being sprayed with his saliva. He was loaded onto a gurney for transport by paramedics. He continued to curse and scream at the deputies and paramedics and thrashed around even though he was completely restrained.

A deputy on the scene did not know the exact story as to what had happened on the bus because the first deputy to respond had already taken off with the paramedics.

Two other deputies, going through the person’s backpack, were overheard mentioning something about “women panties” and “stolen items.”